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Refugee High: Coming of Age in America
A year in the life of a Chicago high school with one of the nation’s highest proportions of refugees, told with “strong novel-like pacing” ( Milwaukee Magazine )
“A stunning and heart-wrenching work of nonfiction.”
— Chicago Reader Winner of the Studs and Ida Terkel Award
For a century, Chicago’s Roger C. Sullivan High School has been a home to immigrant and refugee students. In 2017, during the worst global refugee crisis in history, its immigrant population numbered close to three hundred—or nearly half the school—and many were refugees new to the country. These young people came from thirty-five different countries, speaking more than thirty-eight different languages. Called “a feat of immersive reporting” ( National Book Review ), and “a powerful portrait of resilience in the face of long odds” ( Publishers Weekly ), Refugee High , by award-winning journalist Elly Fishman, offers a riveting chronicle of the 2017–8 school year at Sullivan High, a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric was at its height in the White House. Even as we follow teachers and administrators grappling with the everyday challenges facing many urban schools, we witness the complicated circumstances and unique needs of refugee and immigrant Alejandro may be deported just days before he is scheduled to graduate; Shahina narrowly escapes an arranged marriage; and Belenge encounters gang turf wars he doesn’t understand. Heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure, Refugee High raises vital questions about the priorities and values of a public school and offers an eye-opening and captivating window into the present-day American immigration and education systems.
“A stunning and heart-wrenching work of nonfiction.”
— Chicago Reader Winner of the Studs and Ida Terkel Award
For a century, Chicago’s Roger C. Sullivan High School has been a home to immigrant and refugee students. In 2017, during the worst global refugee crisis in history, its immigrant population numbered close to three hundred—or nearly half the school—and many were refugees new to the country. These young people came from thirty-five different countries, speaking more than thirty-eight different languages. Called “a feat of immersive reporting” ( National Book Review ), and “a powerful portrait of resilience in the face of long odds” ( Publishers Weekly ), Refugee High , by award-winning journalist Elly Fishman, offers a riveting chronicle of the 2017–8 school year at Sullivan High, a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric was at its height in the White House. Even as we follow teachers and administrators grappling with the everyday challenges facing many urban schools, we witness the complicated circumstances and unique needs of refugee and immigrant Alejandro may be deported just days before he is scheduled to graduate; Shahina narrowly escapes an arranged marriage; and Belenge encounters gang turf wars he doesn’t understand. Heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure, Refugee High raises vital questions about the priorities and values of a public school and offers an eye-opening and captivating window into the present-day American immigration and education systems.
288 pages, Paperback
First published August 10, 2021
32 people are currently reading
4158 people want to read
About the author
Elly Fishman
1 book28 followersElly Fishman worked as a senior editor and writer at Chicago magazine. Her features have won numerous awards including a City Regional Magazine Award for “Welcome to Refugee High,” her first report on the students and faculty at Chicago’s Roger C. Sullivan High School, on which her book Refugee High: Coming of Age in America (The New Press), winner of the Studs and Ida Terkel Prize for a first book in the public interest, is based. A Chicago native and graduate of the University of Chicago, Fishman currently lives in Milwaukee with her husband and their dog and teaches in the Journalism Department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
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August 22, 2021
The 'mission statement' of the book is "No matter what shape America takes in the coming years, Sullivan will continue to carry forward this country's long tradition of welcoming newcomers. The story of Sullivan High School reflects a better America, one that offers sanctuary and second chances to those who need them most."
Coming after reading the much-slated on GR but much-defended by white authors and the traditional media, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy, I was wondering if the author would be able to avoid descriptions of children that by being stereotypical and sometimes out-and-out insulting and still bring them to life? The author did! There weren't any stereotypical descriptions at all. When the author felt the need to describe a child physically, it was individualised and not kind of a racist shorthand.
One thing I had never realised was that immigrants, legal and illegal into the US, are a business. The school was paid per immigrant, and when under Trump they couldn't keep up the figures they had to appeal elsewhere for the money. Who have thought it!
Sullivan High School is in Chicago. 55% of the students are identified as American-born (and this is not broken down into black, white, what religion, or anything else), the other 45% are from 38 countries speaking 35 languages. 89 of the students out of a school population of 641 were refugees. The others were immigrants, legal and undocumented.
The book tells the stories of these children and their families
Mariah from Iraq
Alejandro from Guatemala, who is as-yet undocumented (his case comes up this August 2021 so I'm hoping it goes well for him!),
Belenge from the Congo, who grew up in a long-term refugee camp in Tanzania,
Shahina from Myanmar and her friend Aisha also Burmese. Shahina does not want an arranged (read forced) marriage,
Nassim, Abdul Karim and Samir all from Syria
And the staff of the High school directly concerned with their education and social well-being.
They live in poverty, they work to support their families, here and to send back money and to pay back families who have had their sons rejected in marriage. Integration is more key to a good life in America than it is in the UK where there are enclaves of immigrants who do not want to assimilate. The school does all it can to teach the children how they can integrate into main-stream America whilst also, through communal feasts and talking about their important cultural and religious days, encouraging them to celebrate their own cultures. Of the highest importance is graduation. That diploma is the foundation of a whole world of success in the US.
The stories are told month-by-month in the school year. At the beginning of it, a boy is shot in some kind of gang connection. Some of the students, immature and unknowing of America, see gangs as something desirable, after this incident they don't.
The most harrowing of the stories was of Shahina whose mother marries off her daughters whether they consent or not. Shahina escapes, quite literally from her fiance's house by threatening to kill herself, her mother doesn't want her back - she must threaten her with the police before she will let her in. She does resume going back to school, doesn't want to wear hijab, sees a future for herself where she will make her own decisions and her own money and marriage doesn't figure. But first she owes the fiance's family $2,000 or so they say and working and going to school is too much for her, so she drops out. But - good news - she returns the following year.
Alejandro has seen terrible violence in Guatemala and has fled on his own to join his father who is legal. He has to leave his mother in very poor circumstances. They can only speak when she has enough money to put data on her phone. He thinks of her all the time, she parents him over the phone, and he wants to look after her. But first he must become legal and his immigration hearing is put off time and time again.
The author, who writes eloquently (can I say that?) is of immigrant stock herself. Her grandparents and great-grandparents, Russian Jews like mine, came to the US at the turn of the 20th century. And there is a parallel with our times. In 1920, 1/3rd the population of Chicago was foreign-born but then the American-born population (meaning White Christian) turned against immigrants particularly those they deemed undesirable. Who White Christians find undesirable changes with the times, at the moment it is Muslims and Latin Americans, back then it was Italians and Jews.
This hardening of attitude to those coming from terrible circumstances (the Jews) or wanting to better themselves with greater opportunities (the Italians) "culminated in the Immigration Act of 1924 (a/k/a the Johnson-Reed Act) which effectively barred immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe". That wasn't repealed until 1965.
The 21st century is a time when people want to live where they feel they can get what they want in life best, or have any kind of life at all. It takes a long time to get refugee status mostly, some people - economic migrants - are probably never going to qualify, others just don't want to wait to start their new life and so they come to all the desirable countries with or without papers.
This does present problems especially to those who are not well-off and whose taxes are going to support them instead of services that need more funding. And also to those whose communities are disrupted by people who do not want to assimilate in any way and may even quite overtly despise them. I write this cognisant that my family were refugees and immigrants between 1880 and 1934, without money, language and of a different culture.
Nothing so far has been done to address these problems and find a solution. Instead it's the old ways and they aren't working. A new model of immigration and settlement is what is needed, a solution to be able to integrate 'them' into 'us' that works. Then we can sing, really really loudly, 'the more we are together the happier we will be'.
This isn't really a proper review of the book. I could write 'review to come' but it isn't going to happen. It does deserve a proper one though. This was the author's first book, it starts on a high. I look forward to her next and subsequent ones.
Notes on reading
Coming after reading the much-slated on GR but much-defended by white authors and the traditional media, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy, I was wondering if the author would be able to avoid descriptions of children that by being stereotypical and sometimes out-and-out insulting and still bring them to life? The author did! There weren't any stereotypical descriptions at all. When the author felt the need to describe a child physically, it was individualised and not kind of a racist shorthand.
One thing I had never realised was that immigrants, legal and illegal into the US, are a business. The school was paid per immigrant, and when under Trump they couldn't keep up the figures they had to appeal elsewhere for the money. Who have thought it!
Sullivan High School is in Chicago. 55% of the students are identified as American-born (and this is not broken down into black, white, what religion, or anything else), the other 45% are from 38 countries speaking 35 languages. 89 of the students out of a school population of 641 were refugees. The others were immigrants, legal and undocumented.
The book tells the stories of these children and their families
Mariah from Iraq
Alejandro from Guatemala, who is as-yet undocumented (his case comes up this August 2021 so I'm hoping it goes well for him!),
Belenge from the Congo, who grew up in a long-term refugee camp in Tanzania,
Shahina from Myanmar and her friend Aisha also Burmese. Shahina does not want an arranged (read forced) marriage,
Nassim, Abdul Karim and Samir all from Syria
And the staff of the High school directly concerned with their education and social well-being.
They live in poverty, they work to support their families, here and to send back money and to pay back families who have had their sons rejected in marriage. Integration is more key to a good life in America than it is in the UK where there are enclaves of immigrants who do not want to assimilate. The school does all it can to teach the children how they can integrate into main-stream America whilst also, through communal feasts and talking about their important cultural and religious days, encouraging them to celebrate their own cultures. Of the highest importance is graduation. That diploma is the foundation of a whole world of success in the US.
The stories are told month-by-month in the school year. At the beginning of it, a boy is shot in some kind of gang connection. Some of the students, immature and unknowing of America, see gangs as something desirable, after this incident they don't.
The most harrowing of the stories was of Shahina whose mother marries off her daughters whether they consent or not. Shahina escapes, quite literally from her fiance's house by threatening to kill herself, her mother doesn't want her back - she must threaten her with the police before she will let her in. She does resume going back to school, doesn't want to wear hijab, sees a future for herself where she will make her own decisions and her own money and marriage doesn't figure. But first she owes the fiance's family $2,000 or so they say and working and going to school is too much for her, so she drops out. But - good news - she returns the following year.
Alejandro has seen terrible violence in Guatemala and has fled on his own to join his father who is legal. He has to leave his mother in very poor circumstances. They can only speak when she has enough money to put data on her phone. He thinks of her all the time, she parents him over the phone, and he wants to look after her. But first he must become legal and his immigration hearing is put off time and time again.
The author, who writes eloquently (can I say that?) is of immigrant stock herself. Her grandparents and great-grandparents, Russian Jews like mine, came to the US at the turn of the 20th century. And there is a parallel with our times. In 1920, 1/3rd the population of Chicago was foreign-born but then the American-born population (meaning White Christian) turned against immigrants particularly those they deemed undesirable. Who White Christians find undesirable changes with the times, at the moment it is Muslims and Latin Americans, back then it was Italians and Jews.
This hardening of attitude to those coming from terrible circumstances (the Jews) or wanting to better themselves with greater opportunities (the Italians) "culminated in the Immigration Act of 1924 (a/k/a the Johnson-Reed Act) which effectively barred immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe". That wasn't repealed until 1965.
The 21st century is a time when people want to live where they feel they can get what they want in life best, or have any kind of life at all. It takes a long time to get refugee status mostly, some people - economic migrants - are probably never going to qualify, others just don't want to wait to start their new life and so they come to all the desirable countries with or without papers.
This does present problems especially to those who are not well-off and whose taxes are going to support them instead of services that need more funding. And also to those whose communities are disrupted by people who do not want to assimilate in any way and may even quite overtly despise them. I write this cognisant that my family were refugees and immigrants between 1880 and 1934, without money, language and of a different culture.
Nothing so far has been done to address these problems and find a solution. Instead it's the old ways and they aren't working. A new model of immigration and settlement is what is needed, a solution to be able to integrate 'them' into 'us' that works. Then we can sing, really really loudly, 'the more we are together the happier we will be'.
This isn't really a proper review of the book. I could write 'review to come' but it isn't going to happen. It does deserve a proper one though. This was the author's first book, it starts on a high. I look forward to her next and subsequent ones.
Notes on reading
August 7, 2022
My dad graduated Sullivan High School in 1966, back when Rogers Park was a neighborhood of primarily working class Jews, Italians, Irish, and other descendants of Western European immigrants. The star of the basketball team was Greek and worked at his family’s grocery store. I grew up hearing stories of my dad’s high school years many times over, so when both of my parents recommended a new book about how this school is today, I was intrigued, and in the end, sadly underwhelmed.
Elly Fishman a former writer for City Magazine, was interested in a public school that housed immigrants, many of them refugees, from around the world. She began by interviewing the school’s principal Chad Adams and members of the administration leading to a magazine piece about Sullivan. Her editors and friends urged Fishman to explore the world of Sullivan further, which lead to this book. Fishman spent a year immersed in the world of four students from around the globe to see how they coped with the day to day life as new Americans while also navigating school, something foreign to them in the world torn countries that they emigrated from.
While Fishman opens reader’s eyes to the challenges of running a school that is home to students from 35 countries and more than 38 ethnic groups, the book fell short for me. Knowing the history of this school, it would have been intriguing if she devoted an opening chapter to more of the history of the school and neighborhood rather than just glossing over it. Sadly, Refugee High read like a long blog entry or magazine piece, gearing the book toward young adult readers without being marketed as such. I was able to read this in a little more than one sitting because the language was simplistic, drastically lowering my rating, despite the subject. I also did not appreciate the politically charged writing; I read this as a former second language teacher to see how the school dealt with this melting pot of cultures and was not in the least interested in the author’s political slant.
Although I was tempted to rate this book as low as 2 stars, I did root for the four students that Fishman chose to focus on: Alejandro from Guatemala, Belenge from Congo, Mariah from Iraq, and Shahina from Burma. These students came to the United States when their parents received refugee status, only to land on the other side of the world with few skills to help them succeed in their new homes. The students, the next generation, were hope to help their parents achieve the American dream. The parents; however, wanted the comfort of home and continued to cling to their traditions of home, cooking ethnic food and speaking their mother tongue, and in the case of Shahina, her parents arranging a marriage for her with a man twice her age against her wishes, when she was all of sixteen and still navigating life as an American. Alejandro was determined to graduate and bring his mother to Chicago. Mariah wanted to live as an America sans burka and read passable English by the time she started high school. One can sense that despite the challenges, these new Americans with the strong support system at home should be able to achieve their dreams.
Devon Avenue, a place I too have come from out of town to shop, is a safe melting pot of cultures from around the world. This paragraph nearly redeemed this book for me. Elly Fishman immerses her readers in a multicultural school, yet it is not clear if she meant for this work to be a book, series of blog entries, extended magazine article, or hour long documentary. Perhaps if Fishman marketed this book as young adult, it would have received higher acclaim. While the narrative is intriguing, the language leaves much to be desired, which makes this premise of newly arrived immigrants in search of a better life fall way short.
🇺🇸 3 stars 🏫
Elly Fishman a former writer for City Magazine, was interested in a public school that housed immigrants, many of them refugees, from around the world. She began by interviewing the school’s principal Chad Adams and members of the administration leading to a magazine piece about Sullivan. Her editors and friends urged Fishman to explore the world of Sullivan further, which lead to this book. Fishman spent a year immersed in the world of four students from around the globe to see how they coped with the day to day life as new Americans while also navigating school, something foreign to them in the world torn countries that they emigrated from.
While Fishman opens reader’s eyes to the challenges of running a school that is home to students from 35 countries and more than 38 ethnic groups, the book fell short for me. Knowing the history of this school, it would have been intriguing if she devoted an opening chapter to more of the history of the school and neighborhood rather than just glossing over it. Sadly, Refugee High read like a long blog entry or magazine piece, gearing the book toward young adult readers without being marketed as such. I was able to read this in a little more than one sitting because the language was simplistic, drastically lowering my rating, despite the subject. I also did not appreciate the politically charged writing; I read this as a former second language teacher to see how the school dealt with this melting pot of cultures and was not in the least interested in the author’s political slant.
Although I was tempted to rate this book as low as 2 stars, I did root for the four students that Fishman chose to focus on: Alejandro from Guatemala, Belenge from Congo, Mariah from Iraq, and Shahina from Burma. These students came to the United States when their parents received refugee status, only to land on the other side of the world with few skills to help them succeed in their new homes. The students, the next generation, were hope to help their parents achieve the American dream. The parents; however, wanted the comfort of home and continued to cling to their traditions of home, cooking ethnic food and speaking their mother tongue, and in the case of Shahina, her parents arranging a marriage for her with a man twice her age against her wishes, when she was all of sixteen and still navigating life as an American. Alejandro was determined to graduate and bring his mother to Chicago. Mariah wanted to live as an America sans burka and read passable English by the time she started high school. One can sense that despite the challenges, these new Americans with the strong support system at home should be able to achieve their dreams.
Devon Avenue, a place I too have come from out of town to shop, is a safe melting pot of cultures from around the world. This paragraph nearly redeemed this book for me. Elly Fishman immerses her readers in a multicultural school, yet it is not clear if she meant for this work to be a book, series of blog entries, extended magazine article, or hour long documentary. Perhaps if Fishman marketed this book as young adult, it would have received higher acclaim. While the narrative is intriguing, the language leaves much to be desired, which makes this premise of newly arrived immigrants in search of a better life fall way short.
🇺🇸 3 stars 🏫
June 12, 2022
I think the goal of this project was to provide a wide overview of what types of challenges refugee and asylum seeking youth face in America (particularly in a post-Trump America), how these landscapes differ based on ethnicity, religion, gender, class, etc, and how schools and communities work to create an atmosphere that is welcoming and supportive.
If that was in fact the goal, then the author absolutely nailed it with this book that follows staff and students at a Chicago high school where refugee youth make up about half of the student body. Anyone looking for a comprehensive introduction to refugee community integration will learn a lot from picking this up. It discusses language, religion, and cultural barriers; the difficulty for parents to be present while working long hours and not knowing the systems and educational structures; how students' behavior can communicate deeper challenges at home; navigating urban gangs and gun violence as survivors of trauma; how legal status can mean the difference between integration or perpetual limbo; and even the deeply difficult topic of arranged marriages for young girls.
However, if you already know the systems and structures and policies and experiences that affect refugee integration, then you might find yourself a bit bored. This book really doesn't go deep into any of the students who experienced displacement. It doesn't immerse you in their inner thoughts or reveal the complexities of what makes them unique and complicated people - at least, not beyond a surface level. Actually, it's the teachers who we get to know more deeply than the students, which I found a bit disappointing.
But I also understand why that is. This is a nonfiction book. Its narrative style makes that easy to forget. And if the author, who comes from a journalism background, pieced these narratives together from in depth interviews with actual people, then for sure it would be unethical to drill deeply into the minds of traumatized teenagers and make them revisit all the darkest corners of their minds. It's much easier to interview the adults who work with them in a that intensive and probing way.
All things considered, would I recommend this as a "refugees 101" intro course? Yes, absolutely. Would I recommend it as a way to gain a deeper understanding of how displacement affects those who experience it? Probably not. For that I'd recommend something like No Land to Light on, Beekeeper of Aleppo, The Last Gift, Exit West, How Fast Can You Run, etc.
I'm back and forth between 3.5 rounded up or down. Right now I'm settling on rounded up, because of the immense amount of work that was put into this project. It's a truly impressive undertaking!
If that was in fact the goal, then the author absolutely nailed it with this book that follows staff and students at a Chicago high school where refugee youth make up about half of the student body. Anyone looking for a comprehensive introduction to refugee community integration will learn a lot from picking this up. It discusses language, religion, and cultural barriers; the difficulty for parents to be present while working long hours and not knowing the systems and educational structures; how students' behavior can communicate deeper challenges at home; navigating urban gangs and gun violence as survivors of trauma; how legal status can mean the difference between integration or perpetual limbo; and even the deeply difficult topic of arranged marriages for young girls.
However, if you already know the systems and structures and policies and experiences that affect refugee integration, then you might find yourself a bit bored. This book really doesn't go deep into any of the students who experienced displacement. It doesn't immerse you in their inner thoughts or reveal the complexities of what makes them unique and complicated people - at least, not beyond a surface level. Actually, it's the teachers who we get to know more deeply than the students, which I found a bit disappointing.
But I also understand why that is. This is a nonfiction book. Its narrative style makes that easy to forget. And if the author, who comes from a journalism background, pieced these narratives together from in depth interviews with actual people, then for sure it would be unethical to drill deeply into the minds of traumatized teenagers and make them revisit all the darkest corners of their minds. It's much easier to interview the adults who work with them in a that intensive and probing way.
All things considered, would I recommend this as a "refugees 101" intro course? Yes, absolutely. Would I recommend it as a way to gain a deeper understanding of how displacement affects those who experience it? Probably not. For that I'd recommend something like No Land to Light on, Beekeeper of Aleppo, The Last Gift, Exit West, How Fast Can You Run, etc.
I'm back and forth between 3.5 rounded up or down. Right now I'm settling on rounded up, because of the immense amount of work that was put into this project. It's a truly impressive undertaking!
December 13, 2021
Ok as a whole. I almost gave it a 2 star for the pick and choose eyes and giving so much copy to the authorities (principal, teachers, workers for social programs' access like free meals etc.) as opposed to more than less than a dozen of the student individuals. But it is still worth the read and it is an interesting place for sure.
This book would lead you to believe that this is a immigrant "norm" entry in Chicago. There is almost NO truth in that assumption. These kids are all on their way to somewhere else. Within a period of 2 years too. Just like the boy who moves to Lansing with his Dad and siblings at the end. These families are not in 3 to 7 generations of dependent welfare but are in transit to finding work and also somewhat their own ethnic communities elsewhere. Which in nearly every case they eventually do. The entire book conflates this entire immigrant issue with a slant that most ARE families with grammar school or teenage members. And it also misinterprets the neighborhood too, IMHO. My brother's translator in Afghanistan was given his family's first housing in that exact location. (They have been here 5 years already and have had 3 more kids since then, we don't leave behind ANYONE in our family. They live in the suburbs now and came to my Thanksgiving before Covid.)
And all of this context schooling is more usually a temporary situation for the great majority who enter, most of them are also legal entries. This neighborhood has HUGE numbers of police, access help, agency for transfer etc. The children are 90% stable (mental/health checks) and the language and customs are the more horrendous issues to overcome. Culture shock is not fun.
Customs in other cultures are almost all centered on very early and mostly arranged marriages or have "honor" systems. Mine did too. So that is another big barrier.
But this is not a school which has the gang death fodder, nor the drug addiction family, nor the lack of working adults within 4 or 5 generations of dependency which you will find on the other side of the city. A system which just this week has also decided that the teachers need every Friday off now too. And also with home "lessons" - the reading and math scores are too horrendous to even quote.
The balance of the book was off. But it is worth the read time. There is nearly nothing from this period written by, in, for, about Chicago in 2021 that begins to tell even 1/2 the truth. Even the levels of some formerly excellent museums are collapsing. Another happening this last month- is that all the volunteer docents for tours/lectures etc. were fired from the Art Institute. Identity politics. Skin color matters more than art knowledge- that's the truth.
This book would lead you to believe that this is a immigrant "norm" entry in Chicago. There is almost NO truth in that assumption. These kids are all on their way to somewhere else. Within a period of 2 years too. Just like the boy who moves to Lansing with his Dad and siblings at the end. These families are not in 3 to 7 generations of dependent welfare but are in transit to finding work and also somewhat their own ethnic communities elsewhere. Which in nearly every case they eventually do. The entire book conflates this entire immigrant issue with a slant that most ARE families with grammar school or teenage members. And it also misinterprets the neighborhood too, IMHO. My brother's translator in Afghanistan was given his family's first housing in that exact location. (They have been here 5 years already and have had 3 more kids since then, we don't leave behind ANYONE in our family. They live in the suburbs now and came to my Thanksgiving before Covid.)
And all of this context schooling is more usually a temporary situation for the great majority who enter, most of them are also legal entries. This neighborhood has HUGE numbers of police, access help, agency for transfer etc. The children are 90% stable (mental/health checks) and the language and customs are the more horrendous issues to overcome. Culture shock is not fun.
Customs in other cultures are almost all centered on very early and mostly arranged marriages or have "honor" systems. Mine did too. So that is another big barrier.
But this is not a school which has the gang death fodder, nor the drug addiction family, nor the lack of working adults within 4 or 5 generations of dependency which you will find on the other side of the city. A system which just this week has also decided that the teachers need every Friday off now too. And also with home "lessons" - the reading and math scores are too horrendous to even quote.
The balance of the book was off. But it is worth the read time. There is nearly nothing from this period written by, in, for, about Chicago in 2021 that begins to tell even 1/2 the truth. Even the levels of some formerly excellent museums are collapsing. Another happening this last month- is that all the volunteer docents for tours/lectures etc. were fired from the Art Institute. Identity politics. Skin color matters more than art knowledge- that's the truth.
August 10, 2021
CW: gun violence, prejudice, racism
Thank you to NetGalley and The New Press for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This nonfiction book visits the school with the highest refugee population in the USA, Chicago's Roger C. Sullivan High School, in 2017, a year that was heavily filled with anti-immigrant rhetoric. We follow the stories of multiple students and teachers, learning about their experiences and the present-day state of American immigration and education systems.
I found myself checking multiple times to make sure that this was actually nonfiction, because the storytelling was done so well. I have seen other reviews sharing that this book is heartbreaking, and I agree. I also found it interesting to read about how the teachers' approaches to teaching English language learners and inclusion methods were met with varying levels of resistance by students, showing that there really is no "one size fits all" in education, and reinforcing that students need teachers who can adapt and support them.
Thank you to NetGalley and The New Press for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This nonfiction book visits the school with the highest refugee population in the USA, Chicago's Roger C. Sullivan High School, in 2017, a year that was heavily filled with anti-immigrant rhetoric. We follow the stories of multiple students and teachers, learning about their experiences and the present-day state of American immigration and education systems.
I found myself checking multiple times to make sure that this was actually nonfiction, because the storytelling was done so well. I have seen other reviews sharing that this book is heartbreaking, and I agree. I also found it interesting to read about how the teachers' approaches to teaching English language learners and inclusion methods were met with varying levels of resistance by students, showing that there really is no "one size fits all" in education, and reinforcing that students need teachers who can adapt and support them.
June 16, 2021
Full review in Booklist.
Could perhaps be more complex, but the kids’ stories and Sullivan’s story are worth reading.
Could perhaps be more complex, but the kids’ stories and Sullivan’s story are worth reading.
April 23, 2022
So so so so good. Great simple non-fiction storytelling that illuminates an experience that is so normal but also so foreign to most people. A must read in my opinion especially if you live in Chicago.
February 6, 2021
Sullivan High School, in the north side of Chicago, has a lot of refugee/immigrant student population. High school is hard enough as it is, let alone students who have ptsd, language barriers, poverty, and cultural misunderstandings. The staff at Sullivan rise to the occasion without judgment and the best of intentions. I do wish there were more insights into the students’ thoughts but I suspect there are so many reasons why the teachers’ perspectives were more in depth.
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
May 4, 2022
It’s insightful, helpful, and inspiring to read about my actual neighbors. Changes the way I see our neighborhood and city. It’s incredibly humbling to live near such courageous and resilient young people. They may be the best of us.
December 1, 2021
I loved this! So crazy that it all happens just over a mile from my apartment.
September 19, 2021
This book gives the reader a clear perspective of what it feels like to be an outsider in a different country. the story is very current with today’s political atmosphere.I enjoyed the story I would like this book on High School reading list.
June 13, 2021
I enjoyed reading this book and getting to know the students of this high school. I would think that any teacher who works with refugees would benefit from reading it be it from recognition of issues and characters or to learn something new about how to work with these students. I couldn't help thinking that the book would make a marvelous movie, but then I'd return to the realization that these are real people with real lives... and how are we going to help them? Kudos to the teachers in this book. I felt that they went far beyond the call of duty and their passion for the work is inspirational. The book itself is easy to read and shed a lot of light on this generation of students. In that respect, it's a good read for any parent and would be fun to read in a parent/teen book club as well.
May 26, 2022
This book about Sullivan High School's care, support, and nurturing of its refugee students is truly inspiring. The author Elly Fishman spent many hours getting to know the staff and several of the students before writing Refugee High. I live not far from this school and my husband actually went to school there many moons ago. We are proud to see the work that Sullivan High School is doing to welcome immigrants. We could all learn a lesson in compassion, perseverance, and tolerance from this book.
April 18, 2023
This is a wonderful and poignant book about a community that is very close to me, literally: the families that attend Sullivan High School in the Chicago neighborhood of Rogers Park. I live just a few blocks from Sullivan, and frequent many of the locations mentioned in this book, and so I was very excited to read this book and learn more about this neighborhood school, one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse high schools in America.
This book takes place over the course of a whole academic school year, from August 2017 to June 2018, and shows the struggles of admin, teachers, students, and families as they struggle with all the issues abound in CPS: lack of resources, poverty, intergenerational trauma, gang violence, alongside all the normal dramas of being a kid. This is all excerbated by the fact that many of the children attending Sullivan are refugees and immigrants, who find themselves and their families increasingly under attack during the first two years of the Trump Administration.
It's a powerful and gripping story about the challenges of a very diverse and underresourced neighbhorhood that I'm proud to call home. Highly recommend, especially for folks who live in RP.
This book takes place over the course of a whole academic school year, from August 2017 to June 2018, and shows the struggles of admin, teachers, students, and families as they struggle with all the issues abound in CPS: lack of resources, poverty, intergenerational trauma, gang violence, alongside all the normal dramas of being a kid. This is all excerbated by the fact that many of the children attending Sullivan are refugees and immigrants, who find themselves and their families increasingly under attack during the first two years of the Trump Administration.
It's a powerful and gripping story about the challenges of a very diverse and underresourced neighbhorhood that I'm proud to call home. Highly recommend, especially for folks who live in RP.
January 1, 2022
I don't remember where I stumbled upon this book, maybe This American Life? A collection of mini stories of each refugee student at Sullivan High School in Chicago. The chapters would alternate stories between the students and staff of the school, and some provided a short biography of the student's life before coming to the U.S.
The sad reality is that even though these refugee students escaped war and poverty in their homeland seeking opportunity and safety, they are still not free from these hardships in the United States. They still experience violence and suffering, now on top of a language and cultural barrier. Home nor school is not a guaranteed sanctuary for them.
It was a good read to get a glimpse of the cultural diversity of the refugees. The collection of scattered short snippets of their life really felt like it was only the scratch on the surface. The personal traumas and struggles of each refugee student deserves more pages. I think I prefer to read an autobiography of each student that goes much more in depth. But this stories-format was a good introduction to dive deeper through other books.
The sad reality is that even though these refugee students escaped war and poverty in their homeland seeking opportunity and safety, they are still not free from these hardships in the United States. They still experience violence and suffering, now on top of a language and cultural barrier. Home nor school is not a guaranteed sanctuary for them.
It was a good read to get a glimpse of the cultural diversity of the refugees. The collection of scattered short snippets of their life really felt like it was only the scratch on the surface. The personal traumas and struggles of each refugee student deserves more pages. I think I prefer to read an autobiography of each student that goes much more in depth. But this stories-format was a good introduction to dive deeper through other books.
January 4, 2024
In the same way that people will donate more money to a cause when it's about the story of an individual as opposed to an organization helping many, Refugee High chronicles the snapshot of a Chicago school for one year when there is high refugee enrollment. While it was interesting to hear specific stories, and to realize they're so close to me, I already understood [one of] the bigger themes – that every student has a million things going on, and schools need to make room for that. However, I think another (sad) thing it points out (in the background) is how varied the context of a school's needs are from year to year. Most obviously, this was written prior to COVID; even before that, enrollment of refugees the following year dropped sharply. Budgets aren't sufficiently responsive to needs in the somewhat slow-moving system, even though those are determined by reasonable-seeming metrics like attendance and enrollment – I suppose the whole system faces a "burner-inserter"-like problem (how do you make a school with facilities ready to serve students with certain needs, if you first have to prove to the district that those students exist in your school, since those students will choose not to return if it's not serving them really well to begin with?)
August 30, 2021
I really enjoyed the structure of this book, which had short chapters following 4 students at Sullivan High School in Chicago and a teacher and an administrator. Readers move through the school year with the students, discovering their struggles and challenges as they discover what it means to be an American.
The author is certainly liberal, but it was less a politic diatribe, than an unveiling of immigrant stories and then tension between new immigrants and their parents. Also, a rather scary look into a large public high school in a big city in the U.S.
I appreciated that this wasn't an idealized look at immigrants or certain cultures, nor was it a villainizing one, but rather leads the reader to view life through another lens and think about big questions for themselves.
Definitely had tears in my eyes in places. Similar to Outcasts United by Warren St. John.
The author is certainly liberal, but it was less a politic diatribe, than an unveiling of immigrant stories and then tension between new immigrants and their parents. Also, a rather scary look into a large public high school in a big city in the U.S.
I appreciated that this wasn't an idealized look at immigrants or certain cultures, nor was it a villainizing one, but rather leads the reader to view life through another lens and think about big questions for themselves.
Definitely had tears in my eyes in places. Similar to Outcasts United by Warren St. John.
July 27, 2021
Author Elly Fishman spent years a Sullivan High School in Chicago shadowing a select group of students and their families as they adjusted to life in America. All of the young men and women featured were recently moved to American as refugees from war torn countries, some I even had to google, and have come to American with hopes for better lives. What they find isn’t always better or easier and the clash of their cultural values and American values often causes problems in their home lives. Through it all the educators and administrators at their high school they to provide them with what they will need to succeed. There are many successes, but also some heartbreaking loses which I know as a teacher can weight you down and make you feel hopeless. The writing in this book was excellent but it is the young people, whose resilience and hope is undeniable, that are the real stars.
May 21, 2022
The stories of immigrants are so complex that this is just a small segment of what so many American immigrants face. But I think Elly Fishman did a great job showing a small slice of the immigration story through the lens of teachers and students at "Refugee High," a high school in Chicago. If nothing else, it shows what real heroes teachers and administrators can be as they deal with impossible problems every day. Even though this is a true story that follows the life of a few students and educators, it is emblematic of much of American education right now. Highly recommended
February 9, 2023
I’m familiar with the community and the school, but this wonderfully written book really helped me understand both in a deeper way. It prompted me to look some of the named characters up and I was really glad to see that the newcomers academy is still in existence, as least insomuch as the website is accurate. This book would be a really good teaching tool for all students seeking to understand the refugee experience, but particularly for Chicago students who might enjoy the familiar places featured in this book.
June 6, 2022
Elly Fishman follows the lives of four refugees who attend Chicago’s Roger T. Sullivan High School. The school has a high percentage of refugees and a school within a school that offers support to them, in hopes that they’ll persevere and graduate and go on to lead productive and happy lives as citizens of the US.
November 15, 2021
Highly recommend this account of a year at Sullivan High School, a Chicago school that has a significant refugee population. The author profiles a few of the staff and kids. It really opened my eyes to the challenges educators and refugees face.
September 11, 2021
Fascinating look at refugees at Sullivan High School in Chicago. Fishman gives full portraits of some students, teachers, administrators and families. A compelling read that gave me deeper insight into the trauma past and present, the difficulties past and present, of those who flee their homelands in order to survive. I highly recommend this book.
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August 27, 2021Here's my review of this book for the Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outloo...
December 22, 2021
This book gives a close-up look at one Chicago high school's experience working with immigrant teenagers and their families. The school's population was more than half non-English speakers and the administration made successfully integrating the students into American culture a focus. Four students and their families are followed for one school year. The author doesn't sanitize or soft-pedal the students' experiences giving it a cinema verité feel. The time frame Fishman reported on overlapped with the Trump administration and the changes it made in the U.S. immigration policies which were directly impacting the school and the ELL program.
September 29, 2022
My two stars is “okay”, three stars is good. I wish I could give it a two and a half. I had to struggle to finish it. I did learn some things from reading it, which is why I pushed myself to finish it, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It followed a bunch of students and a few teachers through the year, but at somewhat of a superficial level. Maybe this style appeals more to other readers.
November 5, 2022
Great idea but not well executed. Missed the "boat" on most accounts. I am in my 16th year teaching NYC public school students -- throughout my career there have been ways of immigrants from Syria, Yemen, Russia - depending on world events. I now teach in a school where 55 percent of the students are recent immigrants, primarily from Africa and South America.
I think the author focused on a handful of administrators that went out of their way to help these students, which is all good-- but she glorified them instead taking a serious look at how all this will play out. She did not address any of the real issues in public high school.
In short, her telling of their story was very superficial. I also was seriously annoyed but her writing style. For some reason, the author felt like she had to describe what everyone was either wearing or eating throughout the book. For example, p. 42 "She wears a black Chicago Police Department vest with blue jeans." p. 58 "she in jeans, and combat boots, and her usual weekday wear." P. 160 she describes all the condiments on the table at one student's house. Somewhere in the book she mentions a 1/2 eaten chocolate chip cookie -- details can move a narrative along; however, in this case, half the narrative are what seems like irrelevant details.
I think the author focused on a handful of administrators that went out of their way to help these students, which is all good-- but she glorified them instead taking a serious look at how all this will play out. She did not address any of the real issues in public high school.
In short, her telling of their story was very superficial. I also was seriously annoyed but her writing style. For some reason, the author felt like she had to describe what everyone was either wearing or eating throughout the book. For example, p. 42 "She wears a black Chicago Police Department vest with blue jeans." p. 58 "she in jeans, and combat boots, and her usual weekday wear." P. 160 she describes all the condiments on the table at one student's house. Somewhere in the book she mentions a 1/2 eaten chocolate chip cookie -- details can move a narrative along; however, in this case, half the narrative are what seems like irrelevant details.
August 8, 2021
Sullivan High School, located on the North Side of Chicago has historically been a home and refuge to immigrant students. This book chronicles the 2017-2018 school year at the high school - a time when when there great fear in immigrant and refugee communities.
Over half of the population of Sullivan is immigrants and we are fortunate to meet a varied cast of bright and interesting characters. They include Alejandro, who has fled gang violence in Guatemala City but may be deported, , Belenge a Congolese refugee who spent tumultuous time in a Tanzanian camp and faces gang issues in his neighborhood, and Shahina a refugee from Myanmar who has a fragile relationship with her parents as she embraces more and more US culture and avoids an imminent arranged marriage.
As a teacher who works with ELL students I was immediately attracted to this book. I truly loved many aspects of the book and learning about the students. I have to say the teacher Sarah seemed inappropriate in her language many times and that detract from the story - my school is suburban and thus I try to keep an open mind regarding what these professionals think will work best with so many students suffering from past and current traumas.
The descriptions and discussions could be facile at times, but the story is gripping and I will be sharing this book as a gift to many of my colleagues. It's fascinating to follow the journeys of so many diverse people in our country. Thank you @NetGalley and #NewPress for this ARC in exchange for a fair review.
Over half of the population of Sullivan is immigrants and we are fortunate to meet a varied cast of bright and interesting characters. They include Alejandro, who has fled gang violence in Guatemala City but may be deported, , Belenge a Congolese refugee who spent tumultuous time in a Tanzanian camp and faces gang issues in his neighborhood, and Shahina a refugee from Myanmar who has a fragile relationship with her parents as she embraces more and more US culture and avoids an imminent arranged marriage.
As a teacher who works with ELL students I was immediately attracted to this book. I truly loved many aspects of the book and learning about the students. I have to say the teacher Sarah seemed inappropriate in her language many times and that detract from the story - my school is suburban and thus I try to keep an open mind regarding what these professionals think will work best with so many students suffering from past and current traumas.
The descriptions and discussions could be facile at times, but the story is gripping and I will be sharing this book as a gift to many of my colleagues. It's fascinating to follow the journeys of so many diverse people in our country. Thank you @NetGalley and #NewPress for this ARC in exchange for a fair review.
June 10, 2021
2.5 stars
This review is based on an ARC of Refugee High: Coming of Age in America which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (The New Press).
As a homeschooled, Midwestern white girl I found this narrative quite fascinating. Refugee High tracks four refugee students at Chicago’s Roger C. Sullivan high school over one school year, detailing the hardships they struggle with not only at school but in their personal lives as well. Sad, yet hopeful, Elly Fishman opens readers' eyes to a hardly-mentioned (but very prevalent) American high school experience.
I liked the blend of voices from both staff and students at the school—this really aided in widening the perspective. I would have liked it if the switching of POV occurred more regularly or consistently. Sometimes I felt that I’d already forgotten one student’s backstory by the time we got back around to him or her. Otherwise, the timeline is very well executed.
Refugee High is an inspiring and heartwarming book about the perseverance of young, uncertain refugees, and those who strive to welcome newcomers to The Great Melting Pot.
This review is based on an ARC of Refugee High: Coming of Age in America which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (The New Press).
As a homeschooled, Midwestern white girl I found this narrative quite fascinating. Refugee High tracks four refugee students at Chicago’s Roger C. Sullivan high school over one school year, detailing the hardships they struggle with not only at school but in their personal lives as well. Sad, yet hopeful, Elly Fishman opens readers' eyes to a hardly-mentioned (but very prevalent) American high school experience.
I liked the blend of voices from both staff and students at the school—this really aided in widening the perspective. I would have liked it if the switching of POV occurred more regularly or consistently. Sometimes I felt that I’d already forgotten one student’s backstory by the time we got back around to him or her. Otherwise, the timeline is very well executed.
Refugee High is an inspiring and heartwarming book about the perseverance of young, uncertain refugees, and those who strive to welcome newcomers to The Great Melting Pot.
September 4, 2021
I received this e-book thanks to NetGalley and The New Press.
Refugee High is a chronical of the school year 2017/2018 in Chicago's Sullivan High School, which contains one of the highest proportions of immigrant and refugee students in the US. In that year, there was students from thirty-five different countries, and thirty-eight languages were spoken inside the school.
The author spent the entire school year following four students; Mariah, an Iraqi refugee, Alejandro, an asylum seeker from Guatemala, Belenge, a Congolese refugee, and Shahina, a refugee from Myanmar. She shadowed each one of them inside and outside of school. And shared stories of other students from Syria, Congo, Burma,..
A story of violence, racism and fear. A hope of a better life but the struggle continue.
There it comes Sullivan High and its administration and the programs they created to help this kids.
The story of Tobias, Belenge's father in Congo and how he fled to a refugee camp in Tanzania was heartbroking, the arranged marriages of young Muslim girls (14-16 yo) were shocking, even unbelievable! Alejandro's story kept me wondering what happened to him!
Refugee High is a chronical of the school year 2017/2018 in Chicago's Sullivan High School, which contains one of the highest proportions of immigrant and refugee students in the US. In that year, there was students from thirty-five different countries, and thirty-eight languages were spoken inside the school.
The author spent the entire school year following four students; Mariah, an Iraqi refugee, Alejandro, an asylum seeker from Guatemala, Belenge, a Congolese refugee, and Shahina, a refugee from Myanmar. She shadowed each one of them inside and outside of school. And shared stories of other students from Syria, Congo, Burma,..
A story of violence, racism and fear. A hope of a better life but the struggle continue.
There it comes Sullivan High and its administration and the programs they created to help this kids.
The story of Tobias, Belenge's father in Congo and how he fled to a refugee camp in Tanzania was heartbroking, the arranged marriages of young Muslim girls (14-16 yo) were shocking, even unbelievable! Alejandro's story kept me wondering what happened to him!
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